Fire escape

ABSTRACT

A fire escape having a sheet of smooth flexible material woven between staggered rows of transverse braces so as to present a flight of stairs, and means for supporting the flight of stairs in an inclined position wherein treads of steps slope outwards and downwards to facilitate an escape to descend the fire escape in a sitting position.

United States Patent Inventor Frederick Booth 1429 Hamilton St., New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada Appl. No. 47,418 Filed June 18, 1970 Patented July 27, 1971 FIRE ESCAPE 5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 182/49, 182/8l, 182/196 Int. Cl. E06e 7/08, E06c 9/06 Field of Search 182/48, 49, 106, 77,194, 196

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 592,133 10/1897 Davis 182/49 976,871 11/1910 Hammond. 182/49 1,274,824 8/1918 Wallace 182/49 Primary Examiner-Reinaldo P. Machado Attorney-Lyle G. Trorey ABSTRACT: A fire escape having a sheet of smooth flexible material woven between staggered rows of transverse braces so as to present a flight of stairs, and means for supporting the flight of stairs in an inclined position wherein treads of steps slope outwards and downwards to facilitate an escape to descend the fire escape in a sitting position.

FIRE ESCAPE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to exterior fire escapes.

2. Prior Art Fire escapes on exterior walls of buildings usually take the form of a series of flights of stairs extending between landings disposed at every floor of the building, emergency exits being provided at every landing to permit escapees to avail themselves of the fire escape should the need arise. Present fire escapes of this type are usually bolted to the building and, for obvious reasons, are made as light as practically possible. Steps of the stairs are usually light metallic mesh and handrails are usually of light tubular construction.

This type of fire escape is quite adequate to permit firemen to ascend to fight a fire however firemen find it is very difficult to evacuate a building, quickly, as some escapees tend to freeze on the fire escape. This is probably due to fear of height and to panic. It has been found, however, that those escapees who have fear of heights can be persuaded to descend a fire escape from great heights, in a sitting position i.e. to move from step to step in a sitting position.

Fire escapes of prior art arenot constructed to permit rapid descent in this manner, thus passage of other escapees is impeded.

Furthermore, aesthetically, fire escapes of prior art leave much to be desired, consequently they are not used in modern high rise apartments where external appearance is considered to be of prime importance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention seeks to overcome the objections as above by providing a fire escape which is easy to descend in a sitting position thus facilitating rapid descent by those who are afraid of heights. The present invention furthermore provides a fire escape which permits firemen to ascend to fight fire and also which is amenable for use in high rise apartments as when not in use it is partially hidden and detracts, little, from the appearance of buildings.

The fire escape of the present invention is adapted to be used in buildings having external balconies arranged one above the other and includes a frame having a pair of parallel spaced-apart side supports and a plurality of transverse braces extending between the side supports, the braces being staggered, alternately, on opposite sides of a longitudinal centerline of the braces. A strip of smooth flexible material is woven between the braces to form a series of steps having treads and risers. The frame is mounted at one end to an upper balcony for swinging movement from a substantially horizontal position beneath said balcony to an inclined position resting on a balcony below in which inclined position the treads and risers slope outwards and downwards so as to facilitate descent of an escapee in a sitting position.

A detailed description following, related to drawings, gives exemplification of preferred embodiments of the invention which, however, is capable of expression in structure other than that described and illustrated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of one embodiment ofthe fire escape shown in one position in unbroken outline and in another position in broken outline;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section on line 2-2 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 shows, diagrammatically, use of the tire escape by an escapee descending in a sitting position,

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing, partially, a person ascending,

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of aportion of another embodiment of the tire escape,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view ofline 6-6 of FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view on line 7-7 of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIGS. I and 2 Referring to the drawings a fire escape, generally 10, being one embodiment of the invention, is shown secured cxteriorly ofa building 11 between an upper balcony I3 and a lower balcony 14. The fire escape includes a flight of stairs I5 swingably moveable between an inclined position, as shown in solid outline, and a horizontal position, as shown in broken outline.

The flight of stairs 15 is of metallic construction, such as aluminum, and includes a a pair of T-shaped side supports 16-16 which can be extruded sections having central webs 17-17 between 6 to 8 inches in depth and upper crosspieccs 18-18. The supports 16-16 are maintained in spaced-apart parallel relationship by transverse braces 20, the braces being secured to the supports in a known manner, such as by ring connectors, not shown.

The transverse braces are staggered, alternately, on 0pposite sides ofa longitudinal centerline 16.1 of each support.

A strip of smooth flexible material 21, in this instance a strip of aluminum having a width slightly less than the distance between the web portions 17-17 of the supports, is woven between the transverse braces so as to form a series of steps and is secured at its ends to a lower transverse brace 20.] and to an upper transverse brace 20.2.

The flight of stairs 15 is swingably mounted at upper ends of the supports on a cross-shaft 22 which extends transversely between the pair of brackets 23, the brackets being secured to the upper balcony at opposite sides of a manhole 24 therein. The manhole 24 is normally covered by a trapdoor 25.

A supporting leg 26 is swingably mounted on a cross shaft 27 extending transversely between the supports at lower ends thereof. The supporting leg which is between two and three feet in length can be swung from a collapsed position, as shown in broken outline, in which it extends beneath and parallel to the side supports, and a vertical position, as shown in solid outline, in which it rests on the lower balcony 15 so as to support the flight of stairs in an inclined position.

A spring closed latch 29 of known construction and operated to an open position by means of cords 30 and 31 is secured at a lower end of the leg. The latch 29 engages a latching element 32 secured to the building when the flight of stairs is arranged in its horizontal position with the leg against the underside of the supports so as releaseably to lock the stairs beneath the upper balcony. The cord 30 extends beneath the upper balcony to the manhole 24 for operation by a person who wishes to descend the flight of stairs while the cord 3] depends downwards from the latch 29 for operation by a person who wishes to ascend the stairs from the lower balcony.

A counterweight 35 is connected to the stairs by a cable 36 which passes over the pulleys 37 and is fastened at a lower end of one of the side supports. The weight of the counterweight is such that only a slight tension say 5 pounds, need be applied to the cable 36 to pull the stairs from their horizontal to their inclined position, thus if the cord 31 in inadvertently pulled or if the latch should accidentally release the flight of stairs will not automatically swing down from its horizontal position.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 the transverse braces are disposed so that with the flight of stairs in its inclined position, i.e. supported on the lower balcony by the leg 26 in a vertical position, treads 38 of the steps slope outwards and downwards away from risers 39 at an angle I to the horizontal, typically about 10. The risers 39 also slope outwards and downwards at substantially the same angle to the vertical.

OPERATION FIG. 1

As shown in FIG. 1 the flight of stairs when not in use, extends in a horizontal position, as shown in broken outline, beneath the upper balcony. In order to descend from the upper balcony, an escapee simply swings the trapdoor away from the manhole, puts his weight on the stairs then pulls cord 30 so as to release latch 29, and permit the leg 26 to swing freely to a vertical position. The flight of stairs can then swing to the inclined position.

FIGS. 3 and 4 The fire escape permits a person to descend quickly, in a sitting position as shown in FIG. 3, due to the smoothness of the material forming the steps and to the slope of the treads and risers. The crosspieces l8 serve as handrails.

The fire escape, see FIG. 4, also permits a person to ascend in a standing position the strip of sheet metal being secured only at upper and lower transverse braces will give under foot pressure so that the weight of the ascending individual is taken by the transverse braces.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show another embodiment of fire escape, generally 50 Fire escape 50 is substantially the same as fire escape 10 with the exception of side supports 52, one being shown, which correspond to side supports 16 of fire escape 10.

Each side support 52 is an inverted T-shaped section having a central web 53 and a lower crosspiece 54.

A handrail 55 extends along an upper edge 53.1 of the web. The handrail is secured to the web by means of a plurality of pairs of supporting arms 56 (one pair being shown). Each pair of arms is pinned at upper ends 57 on a pin 58 extending through the handrail and pinned at lower ends 59 on a transverse pin 60 passing through the web. The supporting arms have a length greater than the width of the web so that, see FIG. 5, each handrail can be swung upwards from a collapsed position as shown in broken outline, in which extends flush along the upper edge of each side support 52, to an extended position, as shown in solid outline, parallel to but spaced above each support. A spring latch 61, see FIGS. and 7, is secured in a bracket 62 adjacent a lower end of each side support for engaging an arm of a lower pair of arms when the handrail is swung to its extended position so as to prevent return of the handrail to its collapsed position when an escapee uses the fire escape.

The handrails 55, when extended, obviously provide more of a feeling of security to a person afraid of heights than the handrails of fire escape yet, with the handrails collapsed escape 50 has, substantially, the same depth as escape 10.

Both fire escapes can be constructed so that when they are arranged in positions extending horizontally beneath the upper balconies they blend with the decor of the building. The undersides of both fire escapes can be covered with construction materials similar in appearance to the underside of the balconies. Furthermore, counterweights can be housed in covers which also blend with the decor of the building.

lclaim:

l. A fire escape for buildings having balconies arranged one above the other, the fire escape including:

a. a frame having a pair of parallel spaced-apart side supports,

b. a plurality of transverse braces extending between the side supports, the braces being staggered alternately on opposite sides of longitudinal center lines of the supports,

c. a strip of smooth flexible material extending from end to end of the side supports and woven through the braces so as to provide a flight of stairs having treads and risers,

d. means for swingably mounting the frame at an upper end to an upper balcony for swinging movement between horizontal position and an inclined position,

. means at a lower end of the frame for supporting the frame in said inclined position on a lower balcony, the braces being arranged so that with the frame disposed in said inclined position the treads and risers slope outwards and downwards. 2. A fire escape as claimed in claim 1 wherein the strip of flexible material is secured only at its ends to upper and lower transverse braces. I

3. A fire escape as claimed in claim 1 In which the means (e) includes a leg connected at one end to the lower end of the frame for swinging movement between a collapsed position against an underside of the frame and an extended position depending freely vertically.

4. A fire escape as claimed in claim 3 including f. a spring latch connected to the supporting leg,

g. a latch element connected to the building adapted to be engaged by spring latch when the supporting leg is disposed in collapsed position and the frame is disposed in its horizontal position for releasably maintaining the frame in a horizontal position beneath the upper balcony,

h. and means connected to the spring latch operable from either the upper or lower balconies for releasing the latch so as to permit the flight of stairs to be moved to its inclined position.

5. A fire escape as claimed in claim 1 including;

i. a handrail extending longitudinally of an upper edge of each of the side supports,

j. supporting arms swingably connecting each handrail and a side support, said arms being adapted to permit each handrail to be swung between a collapsed position against the support and an extended portion parallel to and spaced thereabove,

k. a spring latch connected to each side support for releasably engaging an arm of each handrail when the latter is swung to its extended position.

LIST OF NUMERICAL REFERENCES 10 Fire escape ll Building 13 Upper balcony 14 Lower balcony I5 Flight of stairs [6-16 Side supports l6.l Centerline l'I-l7 Webs I848 Crnsspieces 20 Transverse braces 20.1 Lower transverse brace 20.2 Upper transverse brace 2| Strip of material 22 Cross-shaft Z3 Brackets 24 Manhole 25 Trapdoor 26 Supporting leg 27 Cross-shaft 29 Latch 30 Cord 3| Cord 32 Latching element 35 counterweight 36 Cable 37 Pulleys 38 Trends 39 Risers 50 Fire escape 51 Side supports 53 Web 54 Crosspiece 55 Handrail 53.] Upper edge of web 56 Supporting arms 57 Upper end of arms 58 Pin 59 Lower ends of arms 60 Pin 61 Latch 62 Bracket 

1. A fire escape for buildings having balconies arranged one above the other, the fire escape including: a. a frame having a pair of parallel spaced-apart side supports, b. a plurality of transverse braces extending between the side supports, the braces being staggered alternately on opposite sides of longitudinal center lines of the supports, c. a strip of smooth flexible material extending from end to end of the side supports and woven through the braces so as to provide a flight of stairs having treads and risers, d. means for swingably mounting the frame at an upper end to an upper balcony for swinging mOvement between horizontal position and an inclined position, e. means at a lower end of the frame for supporting the frame in said inclined position on a lower balcony, the braces being arranged so that with the frame disposed in said inclined position the treads and risers slope outwards and downwards.
 2. A fire escape as claimed in claim 1 wherein the strip of flexible material is secured only at its ends to upper and lower transverse braces.
 3. A fire escape as claimed in claim 1 in which the means (e) includes a leg connected at one end to the lower end of the frame for swinging movement between a collapsed position against an underside of the frame and an extended position depending freely vertically.
 4. A fire escape as claimed in claim 3 including f. a spring latch connected to the supporting leg, g. a latch element connected to the building adapted to be engaged by spring latch when the supporting leg is disposed in collapsed position and the frame is disposed in its horizontal position for releasably maintaining the frame in a horizontal position beneath the upper balcony, h. and means connected to the spring latch operable from either the upper or lower balconies for releasing the latch so as to permit the flight of stairs to be moved to its inclined position.
 5. A fire escape as claimed in claim 1 including; i. a handrail extending longitudinally of an upper edge of each of the side supports, j. supporting arms swingably connecting each handrail and a side support, said arms being adapted to permit each handrail to be swung between a collapsed position against the support and an extended portion parallel to and spaced thereabove, k. a spring latch connected to each side support for releasably engaging an arm of each handrail when the latter is swung to its extended position. LIST OF NUMERICAL REFERENCES 10 Fire escape 11 Building 13 Upper balcony 14 Lower balcony 15 Flight of stairs 16-16 Side supports 16.1 Centerline 17-17 Webs 18-18 Crosspieces 20 Transverse braces 20.1 Lower transverse brace 20.2 Upper transverse brace 21 Strip of material 22 Cross-shaft 23 Brackets 24 Manhole 25 Trapdoor 26 Supporting leg 27 Cross-shaft 29 Latch 30 Cord 31 Cord 32 Latching element 35 Counterweight 36 Cable 37 Pulleys 38 Treads 39 Risers 50 Fire escape 52 Side supports 53 Web54 Crosspiece 55 Handrail 53.1 Upper edge of web 56 Supporting arms 57 Upper end of arms 58 Pin 59 Lower ends of arms 60 Pin 61 Latch62 Bracket 